Axia College Cmc 210 Final Paper
During the days when radio was developing, there were only a few in control of the
airwaves. Throughout history, only a few remained in control thus creating a
monopoly which was fostered by the United States government.
Early radio broadcasts include Samuel Morse’s first telegraphic line in 1844, Guglielmo
Marconi’s experiments on wireless telegraphy, and Lee DeForest’s wireless telephony
in 1899. All of the aforementioned helped create a type of communication, point to
point, which at the time was revolutionary. Point to point communication was useful
in ships being able to communicate with those on land.
Point to point radio transmissions were eventually replaced by broadcasts of voices and
music. A growing medium which at one point allowed radio amateurs to cram the
airwaves saw the need for government overseeing and regulation. One of the first
signs of the government’s fostering of monopoly is notated in the textbook Media &
Culture. “When the United States entered the war in 1917, the navy closed down all
amateur radio operations and took control of key radio transmitter to ensure military
security. (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, 2007)” The U.S. wanted to at first create a
governmental sector monopoly on radio. Because this idea was opposed, the
government then allowed General Electric (GE) to create a public sector monopoly on
radio. GE was allowed to found new companies such as RCA, acquire holdings in a
competitor company, and acquire radio patents of other U.S. companies. This was
allowed because …”it gave the United States almost total control over the emerging
mass medium of broadcasting… (Campbell, Martin, & Fabos, Media & Culture an introduction to mass communications, 2007)” “…RCA ensured the global...
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